Wasps' Nests

6ths

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 21, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: London / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001FIC
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,349 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The 6ths are not so much a band as a forum to showcase the synth pop writing and arranging talents that Stephin Merritt normally reserves for his sometimes solo, sometimes group, project, the Magnetic Fields. On Wasps' Nests, the songwriter's first major-label release, 16 indie rock stars, from Superchunk's Mac McCaughan to Unrest/Air Miami's Mark Robinson take turns singing new Merritt compositions.

But for all the reinterpreting you'd expect from staunch individualists like Sebadoh's Lou Barlow, Wasps' Nests is surprisingly unified. Perhaps because the music and production is all Merritt's, none of the voices do much to alter the essential qualities of the songs' form and style. Every vocal performance, from the airy soprano of Heavenly's Amelia Fletcher on "Looking For Love (In the Hall of Mirrors)" to Merritt's own brooding bass on "Aging Spinsters," is moving but inconsequential to the music's identity.

Just as well. Wasps' Nests is designed to highlight Merritt, the writer and arranger. As he clarified last year on the Magnetic Fields' brilliant The Charm of the Highway Strip, Merritt is the rare pop composer to ingest all the greats before him--from Bacharach and David to Morrissey and Marr--and to applie their infectious melodic gifts and lyrical grace to the sounds and tools of the day. Merritt's weapon of choice: the multilayered metallic drone and zap of the computerized keyboard. And he slays us every time. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Stephin Merritt album, April 4, 2000

By	Kurt (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews

If you have listened to all the Magnetic Fields albums and are interested in some of Stephin's side projects, this is the album to get. I would describe it as a cross between the lush melodies of "Get Lost" and the techno edge of "Holiday." The different vocalists add to the album's high level of listening pleasure. Plus, there are some songs here which rank among the best Magnetic Fields songs. "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" and "Falling Out of Love (With You)" are standouts with everything else ranking close behind.

This is a great album to get if you have worn out your CD player with "69 Love Songs" and are thirsty for more Merritt.

PS - The Future Bible Heroes is 80s technopop overdrive (also recommended) while the Gothic Archies EP is weird, slightly inconsistent but still has some high points.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lush synth-pop with hipper-than-hip vocal support., September 2, 1998

By	Pop Kulcher "Pop Kulcher" (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Pop Kulcher Review: Stephin Merritt writes sensitive pop-poetry, and his band, the Magnetic Fields, has put out some albums of melodic ditties with lovelorn lyrics and lo-fi (primarily synthesizer-driven) instrumentation. But far better is this one-shot effort as The 6ths (the band name & album title were chosen as a tongue-twister: try saying it out loud), in which Merritt turns over vocal duties to a Who's Who of alternative rock heroes (including Dean Wareham of Luna, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, Robert Scott of the Bats, Mitch Easter, Barbara Manning, etc.). So the album manages to sound a bit like a cover-song compilation, with Merritt's sweet melodies, quiet keyboards and guitars, and simple but moving lyrics being the constants holding the whole thing together. It's a lush treat that should not be missed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best "pop" albums of the nineties, March 1, 2004

By	race_of_doom (USA) - See all my reviews

These sixteen songs are so wonderfully catchy, so beautifully composed, so attractive in a good poppy way, that they'll stick in your head for years. I'm living proof -- I first heard these songs in early 2000, and I'm still humming "Movies In My Head." Four years. Believe me, these songs just simply never, ever get old! It's pretty weird, but it's completely true.

Stephin Merritt is a genius. He's probably the most prolific songwriter out there right now (or was, considering Ryan Adams... ugh) that also consistently writes compelling, interesting, and wonderful music. "69 Love Songs" is a great example.

For this release, he somehow found fifteen of the greatest indie vocalists around. Barbara Manning, Lou Barlow (of Sebadoh), Georgia Hubley (of Yo La Tengo), Mac MacCaughan (of Superchunk -- he also runs Merge Records, home of many Magnetic Fields releases), Mark Robinson (of Unrest -- he also runs the wonderful TeenBeat label), Amelia Fletcher (of Heavenly), Dean Wareham (of indie heroes Galaxie 500), Mary Timony (of Helium), and more -- including himself. It's just simply astounding.

If you have any sense, do yourself a favor and purchase this album. It's worth every single penny.